Have you ever heard music that no matter how hard you try to resist, you end up dancing? Even if it’s just an awkward little foot tap or an uncontrollable head nod, you end up moving to the beat in some way or another?
Well, Touch Sensitive is the guy making that music.
Touch Sensitive, an Australian producer named Michael Di Francesco, blends classic disco and house music with an emphasis on melodic bass lines to get crowds movin’ their feet.
He hit the decks at the Future Classic BBQ in the Wynwood art district of Miami this past weekend and we had the pleasure of chatting over a few cordatitos.
With a lush mustache, a micro mullet of thick, curly hair and tiny, gold hoops in each ear, Francesco looks like a chic reincarnate of all of the best aspects of the 80s.
“I look really weird without the mustache. If I take it off, I just look weird,” said Francesco. “Maybe it’s a security blanket. I feel safe behind it, you know.”
His facial hair comes secondary to his musical journey, however. His 2012 track “Real Talk” spent five months at the top of the Beatport indie-dance charts, his debut EP “Pizza Guy / Show Me” has been the soundtrack of house parties all over the world (at least the ones that I’ve been to) and he’s opened up for the likes of Disclosure and Cut Copy. Francesco’s latest single “Teen Idols” is a contagiously upbeat number and “Pizza Guy Remixes 12” brings together the talented minds of Fantastic Man, I:Cube, Sau Poler and Sage Caswell.
At first glance, Francesco’s music seems like yet another exciting sound coming from the Future Classic magic in the land down under, but he isn’t convinced Australia really has better music.
“I think it has to do with the fact that it is really easy to make a record by yourself now since you don’t need a lot of technology.” said Francesco. “A lot of young kids, instead of riding their bikes or playing video games are playing Ableton like it is a video game. I think it is just young people exploring music.”
Despite the too-cool-for-school rep of the Aussie tunes, the majority of what he loves musically comes from America. His recent trip to L.A., which usually consists of a good bit of partying, was the launch pad for a bout of musical productivity. Playing off his love for new funk, he just laid down a track with Harriet Brown.
Pursuing music hasn’t always been an easy journey. He’s experienced times of broke living and times of comfortability. As someone who has spent the better part of his life in the music world, his advice to aspiring musicians looking to get their music out of their bedrooms and onto the stage is simple.
“I think if you stick with what you do, it’s going to come around,” said Francesco. “People can see if you are genuinely a nice person or if you just jump on the bandwagon.”
